Chamarel Mauritius

Chamarel Mauritius is a small village in the south west, known for its scenic location and natural attractions, amongst them are the Seven Coloured Earths, the Alexander Falls and the Black River Gorges National Park.

The seven coloured earths are a geological attraction. It is a relatively small area of sand dunes comprising sand of seven distinct colours (red, brown, violet, green, blue, purple and yellow). The main feature of the place is that since these differently coloured sands settle in different layers, the dunes acquire a surrealistic, striped colouring. The different shades of colour are thought to be a consequence of the molten volcanic rock cooling down at different external temperatures. It is quite a spectacular site and popular with tourists. Nowadays, the dunes are protected and visitors are not allowed to climb them, although they can look at the scenery from observation posts.

The Alexandra Falls are formed by the River St.Denis, the waterfalls of Chamarel have a height of 83 metres (272 feet). The waterfalls and are surrounded by the lush forest of Black River Gorges National Park. You can see the waterfalls from the upper deck at the Chamarel Seven Colored Earth site or you can make your way down the trail to enjoy shallow water swimming at the bottom of the falls. The Alexandra falls are definitely the most famous and recognised waterfalls in Mauritius and as such has always been a main attraction for tourists. This is one site you really must visit whilst on holiday here.

The Black River Gorges National Park near Chamarel Mauritius, covers an area of 67.54 km² including humid upland forest, drier lowland forest and marshy heathland. There are 2 visitor information centres, picnic areas and 60 kilometres of trails. There are also 4 field stations in the park which are used for research.

The park protects most of the island’s remaining rainforest. Many endemic plants and animals still occur in the park including the Mauritian flying fox and all of the island’s endemic birds: Mauritius kestrel, pink pigeon, Mauritius parakeet, Mauritius cuckoo-shrike.